Coloradans face losing Medicaid and higher insurance premiums
MEDIA RELEASE
March 13, 2017
Contact: Katie Reinisch, 303-653-1009, katie@progressive-promotions.com
DENVER – The much anticipated analysis of the GOP plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act confirms that millions of Americans, including thousands of Coloradans, would lose coverage if passed. The Congressional Budget Office released its analysis of the “American Health Care Act” today, showing the bill to repeal and “replace” the ACA would take away health care from 14 million people nationwide in 2018 and raise health insurance premiums by 15-20% next year. This will further exacerbate high premiums and market challenges Coloradans are grappling with in some areas of the state.
“The CBO analysis confirms what many consumers have feared, their health care will be taken away from them under the current GOP plan,” said Adam Fox, Director of Strategic Engagement of the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative. “The American Health Care Act will mean many hard-working Coloradans don’t have an option for health coverage and face the risk of crippling medical debt while the rich, insurers, and pharmaceutical companies receive tax cuts.”
Proposed changes to Medicaid will end the program as we know it by shifting costs to the states and forcing rationing of care to seniors, children and people with disabilities. The report from the CBO shows an estimated 14 million Americans will lose Medicaid coverage and another 9 million will lose their private insurance coverage through the individual insurance market by 2026. The GOP bill would nearly double the number of Americans uninsured by 2026 from 28 million to 52 million.
“Despite the President’s and Republicans’ promises that their plan would not take away health care from anyone, that’s precisely what this bill will do,” said Fox. “Not only will this plan take away health care from millions, but it will increase consumers’ out-of-pocket costs and destabilize our health care system and the tens of thousands of jobs that were created under the ACA. This bill puts hospitals and our health care safety net in peril.”
Colorado has led the way on health care and decreased our uninsured rate by half. This bill threatens to undo all of the progress our state has made. Congress should be working to improve the ACA, not tear it down and replace it with an inferior and inequitable plan.
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Colorado Consumer Health Initiative represents 45+ Colorado organizations and individual members representing more than 500,000 Colorado consumers, advocating for affordable, accessible, quality health care for all Coloradans.